Tony Blair Faith Foundation

I’ll be honest, I’m not really sure what to expect from the conference tomorrow. Being a practicing Muslim, the notion of faith has always intrigued me, more so after coming to Yale. It might not be a widely held notion across America but the general feeling on Yale campus echoes the phrase “we don’t do God” – possibly even to a more patronizing extreme.

On Thursday 29th July Peking University has become the first Chinese University and the seventh in the world to partner with the Tony Blair Faith Foundation’s Faith and Globalisation Initiative.The Initiative is a global network of leading research universities committed to exploring the complex interrelationship of faith and globalisation.

Young people from Jordan, India and the US scoop first prize in the Tony Blair Faith Foundations global film competition Faith Shorts. The 3 winners yesterday recieved their awards at 195 Piccadilly, the home of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) in front on 200 guests including Tony Blair himself, key religious figures and members of the arts, entertainment and film industry. Faith Shorts is a global film competition run by the Tony Blair Faith Foundation providing young people with the opportunity to express their faith through film.

In only a few hours the Faith Shorts 2010 film competition draws to a close at an award ceremony hosted by Adrian Chiles in the centre of London at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. The stage is set, the judges from Hugh Jackman to Jet Li have cast their votes and the winners are on their way to London. You can be part of this by joining the live stream at www.tonyblairfaithfoundation.org/faithshortsLIVE  from 6pm BST. We first launched the Faith Shorts film competition in March to give young aspiring film makers the chance to express their faith through film.

Commencing in October 2010, Durham University is offering a new, exciting MA taught course in Faith and Globalisation, through its School of Government and International Affairs and Department of Theology and Religion, with participation of staff from several other departments, across two Faculties, Social Sciences & Health, and Arts & Humanities.

Faith Shorts is a global film competition run by the Tony Blair Faith Foundation providing young people with the opportunity to express their faith through film. The competition will culminate on the 22nd July at a star studded award ceremony held at 195 Piccadilly, the home of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) hosted by Adrian Chiles. The three winners will be flown to London to introduce their 3-minute films in person. The powerful films produced deal with family, loss, overcoming adversity, personal devotion and hope.

Just weeks after the University of Western Australia announced their partnership with the foundation Tecnológico de Monterrey have become the first Latin American university – and the fifth in the world – to partner with the Tony Blair Faith Foundation’s rapidly expanding Faith and Globalisation Initiative. No leader can now afford to be ignorant about religion and how it motivates people.